Foundations
by joe and james
Summary: The roots of a tree can spread for miles, just like a huge industry can have roots through the generations. Watch as the company blossoms from four lost, and scared teenagers who want to protect their kind into a large company that has lost its way.
1. Chapter 1

_This story is set back at the formation of the company, starting in 1961 and continuing throughout the years. It starts with the original four, and will recount how they made up the twelve, as well as the whole Adam saga and the drama that is caused by their split._

Chapter One – Socks – Angela Petrelli 1961

At first she had thought the shop window had held such potential. The window had practically glistened in the sun, the items beyond the glass were treasures that Angela could just stare at all day. She had always liked books, they held wonders that the real world simply didn't have. Handsome, strong princes that would come and sweep you off your feet, mythical evils that could be vanquished in the nick of time. But the real world wasn't like that, and looking at these books the young Angela could tell that she had lost something inside her. When Alice, and her parents had died some light inside of her had died, and now these books just held broken promises. The monsters were men in white coats, and her prince charming was a black man. Not that there was anything wrong with Charles, but in fairy tales the princes we're never black. Her weary eyes scanning the shelves she could see through the window, the breath in Angela's body got caught in her chest, at the sight of Alice in Wonderland. Not that the book held any significance to her, but Alice had loved it. She had read it, and then reread it and then pretended she was Alice in the garden. That book had been hope for her…and now it was probably lying somewhere in Coyote Sands, covered in blood and dust. Alice had destroyed most of the camp with her power, bringing lightning and ferocious winds down on her captors, and destroying most of the buildings and causing most of the guards to open fire on the inmates. Her father and Alice had died because they had used their powers to try and escape, she had learned that from one of the surviving guards, but her mother had been shot without a warning. She was human…she couldn't defend herself like the others could.

Feeling a small weight descend on her shoulder, Angela turned her head and found none other than her very own Prince Charming stood behind her. Charles was taller than her, and his dark skin was flawless and matched his chocolate brown eyes perfectly. His muscular arms and broad chest sometimes made Angela forget that she was a freak…that he was a freak. It made her forget everything. Until of course she saw Bobby and Daniel standing behind him, two freakish sentries that reminded her that she was part of a group now. She didn't have a family, or friends that she could go see, so shy Bobby, creepy Daniel and the handsome Charles were now her family and her friends. Turning to the three, Angela mustered a smile to her face and nodded at the three. They had been surveying the area, looking for police officers that could damage their plans. Getting a nod from the three of them, the foursome set off in the direction of 'Fuchs's Clothing emporium'. Walking in a line, with Bobby and Daniel on the outsides, and her and Charles on the inside she felt Charles' hand entwine around her own, his strong fingers that could be so delicate comforting the young girls heart. This of course got some stares, but she couldn't care less. Stepping into the clothing store, a small bell rang as they pushed their way through the door and the small jingle brought the store manager to the counter. He was a handsome man in his mid thirties, who looked like he should be walking into the sunset with some beautiful girl on the cover of a Cowboy story, not working in the small town clothes store.

"What can I do you folks for?" He asked them, smiling at Angela and the two younger boys, but ignoring Charles all together. People discriminated against him because he was black, but the truth was Charles was more powerful than any white, racist that shouted things at him in the street. Charles could wrap anyone around his little finger, he could probe the depths of your mind and find your weaknesses and fears, and he could wipe memories and create false ones…all those things were useful for what they had to do.

Charles, blunt and self appointed leader of the group, stepped forward towards the counter, causing the manager to finally acknowledge that this black man was in his shop. Looking back at the group, Charles smirked before turning back to the man

"Here's a hundred dollars" He said in his commanding voice, his already deep voice resonating in a strange echo type way, the way it did when he used his powers. His eye sight was firmly on the man in question, and Angela could see the tension in his shoulders relax, as Charles' mind took a hold of his. His pale hand slowly reached out and took the one dollar bill that Charles held out

"Me and my friends, are gonna grab a change of clothes and you can keep whatever's left over okay?" The man nodded slowly, and Charles turned to his friends and nodded, using his thumb to wipe a few beads of sweat from his lips that had accumulated when he used his power. Immediately the group split up, each of them grabbing a few changes of clothes as well as underwear, and a new pair of shoes. Angela picked a pale yellow dress, with short sleeves, that reached to her knees. To match she picked a pair of white shoes, and a white head band.

"Get changed, and then we'll go" Charles ordered, and immediately the group split once more, with Angela going behind a large rail of clothes to change, and the boys getting changed in the front. Coming back, the boys were all in different colored slacks, and each wore a polo shirt of different colors and Angela had to stifle a laugh, at the fact that they were all dressed in variations of the same outfit. Thanking the man, they each loaded their dirty clothes into a rucksack Charles had picked up, and started out of the shop with Angela herself bringing up the rear. Glancing back at the shop keeper, who had snapped out of his trance and was putting the one dollar bill in his shirt pocket, a satisfied look on his face, Angela glared at the racist and when he was clearly looking at her grabbed a pair of socks and ran from the store. Hearing him shout out behind her, Alice pushed past the boys and shouted back at them

"Come on! Run!" still running, she could hear the footsteps of the boys following her, and as she shoved the socks into the pocket of her dress, she thought of Alice. _'These are for you Alice…'_

Turning a corner, Alice watched as each of the boys did the same with Bobby bringing up the rear, and each of them leant against the wall panting with exhaustion. When they had finally caught their breath, it was Daniel who spoke first

"What the hell was that?" He asked, his English accent making him sound much madder than his face showed, Angela shrugged her chest still rising and falling with exhaustion, and following the lead of Bobby, she sunk down to the concrete floor. Charles, the fittest of the four had already recovered and was glancing around the corner to see if the police, or the shopkeeper were following them.

"Don't worry Charles, I dreamt about this last night…we're gonna be fine." The only girl soothed, her hand resting on the tall teens strong leg.

"So you knew you were going to do that. Thanks for the warning Ange" Daniel commented, his pale face passive. He didn't actually care if he had to run from the law; he was in a country far from his parents, and his friends. He had nothing to lose…Shaking her head, Angela turned to the English boy and spoke

"My dreams are open to interpretation…we could've got caught." She said with a smirk on her face. Whenever she had a bad dream, which had been most nights since they had escaped from Coyote Sands about three weeks ago, the boys always assured her that her dreams could be interpreted differently.

"Does that mean that we don't have to start this company?" Bobby spoke, the youngest of the four who was still missing his parents more than the others

"I mean, you said we have to do real bad things to keep people like us a secret. Maybe someone else could do it if your dreams are…"

"Bobby! We gotta stop things like Coyote Sands from happening again…we have to protect other kids like us." Charles interrupted. This had been a conversation Bobby had brought up frequent times, like when they had been interrogating the remaining guards and scientists and Charles and erased their memories, or when they had agreed they needed more people and as soon as Angela dreamed up someone to help, that they'd go find them.

"Boys…last night, in my dream I…I remember something else…" The young brunette began, and feeling the attention of all three boys on her Angela continued

"I think I know where Doctor Suresh is…"


	2. Chapter 2

Feeling strong fingers entwine around her own, Angela glanced down and found Charles Devaux's dark hand holding hers, his large and strong, and hers small and delicate…they fit together perfectly. Though she liked to deny it, because she knew that society wouldn't approve, Angela found herself falling quickly in love with this handsome man. Her parents weren't the kind of folks who hated people of color, and Angela was glad. No matter how dead they were, if they would have disapproved Angela couldn't let herself fall for this man. But her father had faced prejudice all his life, able to cause ripples of pure energy in the air that could destroy stone walls, and her mother had married into a family of freaks. So they had both known just how much people's words could hurt, and Charles with his charm and power would have earned their approval in a blink. But Alice was a different story. She had never trusted the boys, and although they had proven themselves to be good men Alice wouldn't have approved of dating Charles Devaux, Daniel Linderman or Bobby Bishop. But then again when you're that young, boys are gross and dating seems like a torture that adults inflicted on each other. Glancing up his body, the powder blue polo shirt snug on his muscled chest, Angela felt her breath catch in her throat, and had to look away quickly before she got to his eyes. Dark brown some days, and lighter the next like liquid chocolate, they could turn all the words in Angela's head to mush. And she needed her wits about her if they were going to find Chandra Suresh and make him forget…

She remembered her dream perfectly. After racing from the store with the owner trailing closely behind her, and then she hid with the boys. Then they walked through the streets, and crossed paths with someone talking on a pay phone and just as they reached him the man said _"I'll visit Chandra then come home, okay?"_ And just as if by magic the foursome stopped, and the man was stood at a payphone and talking quickly into the receiver. Nodding at Charles, she saw his handsome face crease up as he used his mind probing powers to pick an address out of the mans head. His breath a little more labored than it had been the previous moment, Charles spun on his heel and Bobby and Daniel spun as well. But Angela didn't want to leave just yet, she wanted to listen to the man. No matter how many times her father threw a piece of furniture across the room with a seismic blast, or Alice caused the scorching desert heat to turn into a snow storm she didn't believe her dreams would come true. Their powers had so much proof, and hers were subjective. She had dreamt that Chandra had killed all the inmates at Coyote Sands, and that sad act had occurred…but in her dream she had been shot to death alongside Alice and that hadn't happened. Her dreams were too open to interpretation to rely completely on

"I'll visit Chandra then come home, okay?" Angela heard coming from the general direction of the man, and with a small swelling of pride in her chest she spun around and raced after the boys, who were stood in a huddle little way up the road, discussing something intently.

Catching up with the three boys, Angela tapped Bobby on his shoulder to let him know she was there and that he needed to let her into the circle. When he ignored her, his shoulders tensing up like he didn't want to be the one she tapped. Using her shoulder Angela barged her way in between Bobby and Daniel, and Charles looked at her with a serious look on his face she hadn't seen since they had been racing back to Coyote Sands.  
"What? What's wrong?" She asked, her faced scrunched up in worry. Usually it was her who had bad news she had to break to the group, but they were acting like something horrible was going to happen. The boys, each so different looking but wearing such similar clothing, Charles all and dark skinned with a muscular frame, Bobby smaller than the two and with thick glasses and Daniel, skinny with birds nest hair. They exchanged looks in a secret talk, and finally it was Bobby and Daniel looking at Charles, who sighed and then began to speak  
"Look Angie, we know you're the reason we can find Suresh but…we think you should go wait in the room till we get back." The room they were renting was a two room motel room that was a little dingy and had a weird smell Angela tried so hard to get rid of. As he spoke, Angela felt her features harden and her mouth set into a line that she often used when confronting her teachers at school.  
"What girls are okay to do everything else with you, but when you go to confront a doctor suddenly it's a male bonding trip? I found him so really you can all just…"  
"Angie!" Charles shouted, silencing her with the force of his words, which were usually filled with such feeling when she spoke to her.  
"You will go straight back to the hotel, you won't speak to anyone and you'll go lie down" Bobby and Daniel exchanged looks, and Angela bit her lip, as a single tear trickled slowly down her face and she spun on her heel and started walking back to the hotel, her mind struggling to go back and help but her body totally under the control of Charles Devaux.

After walking the small distance back to the hotel, Angela slammed the door behind her as the zombie like state she was in dragged her to the double bed in her room, and though she tried as hard as she could to defy Charles and sit on the couch, she couldn't stop her body from dragging itself to the bed and lying down. And with thoughts of hatred and revenge in her head, Angela was left to wonder the fate of her friends.

Charles led, as the three boys used a large bush to hide their movements towards the residence of Chandra Suresh. Looking back at them he used his telepathy to whisper into their ears  
_'Right, there's no one else in and he doesn't expect us…we can just go in the front"_ Both Bobby and Daniel looked uncomfortable at having their brains spoken to, but both nodded and simultaneously stood, walking quickly up the driveway to the small house Chandra Suresh was renting. Rushing to the door, Charles nodded at the youngest member of the entourage who stepped closer to the door, and using his index finger gently touched the hinge, and closing his eyes the two other boys watched in amazement as the metallic lock darkened and changed in texture, the shiny metal becoming a dark wood like substance. Crouching he did the same to the bottom hinge, and stepping back Charles kicked the door and the weak wood Bobby had created gave way, and the door flew from its hinges. Charles rushed in first, his ability telling him where about Chandra was in the house, and as the three entered the living room they saw the older man rushing for a back exit. Looking at Chandra with his chocolate brown eyes, Charles bellowed one simple word

"Stop!" and the scientist froze, his body not able to move from that position.  
"Turn around doc" Charles commanded, and the older Indian man turned around to face the three of them. The three stood in a line, each looking at the man angrily. He had told them they could trust him, and he had told them that he could make them better. He had lied…

Charles was about to talk, to erase his mind so he didn't ever think of looking for them when he heard Bobby muttering  
"She…she could speak to animals and she liked it…she didn't do anything wrong and now she's gone because of you!" He said, his voice increasing as he got further into his rant about his family that had died. And, as an impulsive teen always will, Bobby let his emotions get the better of him and as Chandra stood there, frozen Bobby rushed forward and tackled him to the floor. Chandra, who was still frozen could only use his eyes to convey his fear as Bobby used his hands to pin the older man down, using his chest for a focusing point for his powers. And slowly, the shirt first, and then Chandra himself started to change color. His white shirt was first to turn into gold, and then his chest the scientists breath becoming labored and wet, like he had a lot of phlegm in his chest as his organs liquefied and turned into solid gold. He died after about thirty seconds, but it was about three minutes before his whole body was solid gold, his face frozen in a mask of agony.

"What the fu…" Charles began, but with a large bang he was interrupted as the front half of his throat exploded in a red haze, and he fell to the floor clutching his throat as he died slowly. Screaming, Daniel dropped down and put his hands on his friends destroyed throat, and was about to heal him when the man they had seen on the phone rushed into the room, kicking Daniel in his back so he lost contact with Charles and landed face down on the carpet. Bobby, exhausted from his large display of power could only breath heavily and stare as the man aimed and fired three times into his chest. The man then slowly turned to Daniel, who was cradling a bloody nose as he stared his attacker in the eye, his bravery coming through against the odds. But bravery doesn't always help, and the man fired into his pretty face. The man then shouted to an unseen partner

"The girl…she must be back at the motel, drive over there"

With a scream Angela woke, up, her fingers entwined around the thin material of the sheets. Her breath coming across raggedly, she looked around the room to try and find a clock. It was five minutes since she had entered the room…that meant she still had time. But she had no idea where Chandra Suresh lived…

(I know there is a strong feeling that Bob could only transform materials into gold, but in an interview with Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite they stated that he could transform materials into other things, and it just hasn't been shown. I wanted a little action in the chapter and it was a nice touch to get Bob involved)


	3. Chapter 3

Her head coated with a fine film of sweat, and a cold bead running between her shoulder blades Angela Shaw jumped out of the motel bed that Charles had commanded her to lie in, the cheap tacky white sheets a little damp from her sweating, though she was stood ready for action she had no idea what to do…she just stood there, her palms sweating and her heart beating like a captive humming bird in her chest. Walking to the motel room door, Angela pulled it open and felt the harsh southern sun hit her full force in the face. With the thick curtains drawn over the window, Angela didn't realize how bright the sun was going to be. Shielding her eyes, Angela took a moment, stood in the door frame, to think about her predicament. The boys must have walked to Chandra's house, so that should take them a good twenty minutes if they went at the pace Angela knew they would. So the agents must have set off about five minutes at least after them, giving Angela a two/three minute gap to find this man and stop him before he got to Chandra's house. Rushing out, and feeling a large man brush past her shoulder, and another woman walk about an inch away from stepping on her foot, Angela realized how truly difficult it was going to be. This place, near Coyote Sands may have been the middle of the middle of nowhere, but it was still pretty full. Citizens milled around, what Angela presumed were the 'social hotspots' for this small town, making finding one man nearly impossible…

Rushing forward, Angela presumed that the man (and his partner) had rented a place to live, and since there was only two rental homes in this tiny village near Coyote Sands, Angela started to sprint…they had to live there, otherwise she had wasted precious time she could have used to try and track this man. Though the streets mere minutes ago proved to be maze like, Angela navigated them now like a pro, the young girl racing past crowds of people to get the other motel. Though the boys had more active, showy powers Angela's dream let her into a lot of things that the boys didn't know. She knew they were destined to die, she knew that Bobby the sweetest of the three would commit an act of murder. These things she knew, but she also knew the identity of the man that would kill them all. He was the man they had seen at the phone booth, and he was the man Charles stole Chandra Suresh's location from. He was also the man that Angela saw walk out of the motel just as she was about twenty feet away. Running forward, Angela didn't know what she would have done if she caught the man but fortunately, she never had to do anything…the man dived into his car and sped off, as if he knew that something was going to happen to Suresh and he needed to stop it. And with that he was gone…

Feeling a lump catch in her throat, Angela put her hand to her mouth to stifle the sob that sounded from her lips. She had failed, and now Bobby, Daniel and Charles were going to die…and it was here fault. In her mind she could see the faces of her family too, her parents…Alice…she had failed everyone. Her heart breaking and her mind racing Alice let out a blood curdling scream, a primitive sound from the bottom of her soul that released so much of her anger. And now all she could do was sob, as from the various motel windows people peered out to see the downhearted girl. Casting her eyes up to the people with tears slowly tracing a line down her face Angela found herself face to face with a window she had expected to be empty. The man and his partner had just left, so Angela had expected their room to be devoid of any life…but there was someone there! A woman with ash blond hair, and wide eyes who when she say Angela looking in her direction ducked down and pulled the flimsy curtain back in place. Standing, Angela rushed forward to that door and after trying the door twice, as unlike her motel these doors faced straight out onto the street, she resolved to break in. A small window was right next to the door, and using her elbow Angela smashed her elbow through the flimsy glass and reached in, using her hand to twist the lock and open the door. Pushing her way in, Angela looked around the motel, seeing nothing useful…in fact the place was empty. Walking further in, and pushing the door closed behind her Angela saw the same woman come out of one of the bedrooms, and close the door tightly behind her. The two women, one young and the other middle aged had a moment of recognition, a look between them that showed that they were both prepared to do whatever it took.

"Radio your partners and tell them to turn around!" The young brunette commanded, her eyes fixed on the woman's face.  
"Partners? There are only two of us here Angela…" The woman spoke slowly, and her throat had a raspy quality that Angela found quite appealing to the ear, but she knew that if push came to shove she'd make sure that woman could never speak again…she'd do anything to save her friends. But Angela was confused, how could there only be two of them in her dream she had seen the man talk to his partner…there had to be three of them for this horrid dream to come true. As if to answer the question racing through Angela's mind the woman began to speak.  
"You see Angie…can I call you Angie?" She couldn't, Alice's mother had called her that…but Angela didn't want to interrupt the woman  
"You see…I'm special, like you and Charles and Robert and Daniel." To emphasize the woman closed her eyes and as if by magic another version of herself appeared beside her. Shocked, Angela stepped back only to have the apparition disappear and appear just beside Angela, causing the young girl to leap forward into the center of the room, surrounded on both sides by this woman.  
"So what, you can make copies of yourself?" Angela asked, genuinely intrigued by this woman's strange power, that seemed to be much more 'science fiction' than any of the powers she had witnessed before.  
"Close Angie, but not quite there. I can astral project, just one copy…and if you reach back there you'll notice she's not really that solid…go on, have a feel." The woman seemed to be nice for the partner of a gun toting maniac, and Angela wanted to stay on her good side so slowly stepping back she put her hand on the woman shoulder, and was surprised when her hand sunk through the woman's shoulder, like putting your hand in a stream, you could feel the pressure but it offered very little resistance.

"So that's how you do it…that's how you're his partner and yet your back here." Angela said to herself quietly, but was heard by the woman.  
"Do what exactly? Have you been dreaming about me Angie?" she asked, and since she had a power herself and seemingly knew everything about her, and her friends Angela confided.  
"I had a dream…one of my special dreams, that your partner shot and killed my friends in cold blood over at Chandra Suresh's place." Angela finished, and a tear forming in the corner of her eye, which she quickly wiped away. The woman seemed genuinely shocked by this Angela's confession so much so that her astral self faded away, as if she had lost concentration.  
"Ron…he's only supposed to go stop the boys from reaching Chandra's house, the only reason he'd have to shoot them is if they endangered the doctor…they did …didn't they? They attacked Chandra!"  
Angela, ashamed that her friends had done something so stupid, nodded and the woman spun around banging her fist against her hand, before turning back to Angela  
"Do your realize what your little hormone patrol has done! Chandra Suresh is 'vital' for the future, and you've killed him before he could achieve his greatest achievements. You're not the only person who can see the future Angie, and I know what you do. Believe me; you'd have been better off dying at Coyote sands, because you will cause so much hurt. Get out, go back to your little motel and wait for your friends."  
Angela was about to interrupt the silence and ask her how they were going to stop Chandra, and consequently stop her friends from dying when the woman cut her off  
"Don't! I'll deal with it, I'll tell Chandra to get out and Ron to pick him up, your friends will arrive at an empty house and everything will be hunky dory. You and the boys can go about living whatever fantasy about saving our kind, and Chandra will grow old enough to change the world."

Walking out of the woman's apartment, Angela felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she could actually enjoy the rest of her day. Walking leisurely back to the motel room, Angela stopped twice to talk to boys who stopped her in the street, and sat down on a bench before going back to the head quarters that they had set up at the motel. As Angela opened the door she felt just a small bit of resistance. Pushing harder, the door opened and after closing it with much less force, Angela peered behind the door to find the source of the blockage, and found a large envelope. Grabbing it, on the front in a cursive black handwriting was one word 'Angie'. Picking it up, Angela sat down on the bed and with trembling hands she ripped open the top of the envelope. Inside, was another envelope this time with her full name 'Angela Shaw', and as well as the second envelope was a small white piece of paper. Grabbing it, Angela read the paper twice, the cursive writing that had been on the larger envelope was on this too, and with shaking hands Angela read it once more.  
_'Angie, I forget to tell you something. My friend, the one who can see the future left you an envelope with me before she died and she told me at one point I'd meet you and have to give you this. I had my projection drop it off. Don't worry, I stopped your dream from occurring before I did this. I believe that we will meet again Ms. Shaw, in fact I'm almost certain of it. That been said, I know some of the contents of the letter and though I haven't opened it, I pity your future Angie. Remember always, why you started this journey. If you ever need to contact me, for anything my home number is (800)Best wishes, Marsha x'_  
Dropping the letter, Angie held the envelope to her chest, hugging it close to her as she slowly fought to regain control of her breathing. Slowly Angela peeled the envelope open, and with shaking hands that seemed paler than the white paper, Angela Shaw read her future.

'_Dear Angela, you don't know me and unfortunately you never will. If I'd have had the opportunity to meet you, things could have turned out so much differently. My name is Ella MacGargan and we share a gift so extraordinary that I cannot put it to paper. When I was twenty one, I discovered that when I dreamt something it came true…not all the time, but mostly. My dreams seemed to be linked to whatever was most important to me, and I managed to avert many disasters from afflicting my family. But then eventually my dreams became less like visions and more like riddles that told me how to proceed, and though I tried to prevent some of the horrible things that have occurred I failed more and more. My sister was murdered, and I didn't see it. I dreamt of my father with a skull on his chest, and three months later he died of lung failure. And I have, so many times, dreamt of you. When you saw your sisters birth in your head weeks before she was conceived, I was there with you…not physically, but in spirit. Angela Shaw I have seen so many things that your life will lead you to do. Some will be amazing, and others will rob you of sleep for weeks. I have seen you with children, and grandchildren and I have seen you doing terrible things to protect them, and I have seen you lose them. I have seen you avert world destroying catastrophes, and I have seen you turn the cheek when so much chaos is being caused by your hands. I have seen you make friends that will last you till old age, and I have seen you mercilessly at war with each other.  
Though the future is fluid, certain things cannot be changed…and I fear all these things are to be set in stone. I pray for you Angela Shaw, I pray for you every night…because out of all the people I have dreamt of you have the most darkness in your future. Pray Angela…you must pray. Do good my beautiful young girl, and do not fear…the joys in your life are almost as immeasurable as the terrors. Never forget that you must protect the world from others…and yourself.  
ELLA X'_

And with that Angela Shaw, shoved the letter under her pillow and laid down upon it, her mind racing…

(sorry for the large gap between chapters, my muse/college work have both been bitches)


End file.
